Thursday, August 24, 2006
Good News from Baghdad (For a Change)
The situation in Baghdad, which for a time seemed to be spiraling down into a Lebanese type civil war, now seems better. Attacks on and deaths of Iraqis by other Iraqis are down and the generals in charge say they are confident they can continue to suppress Iraqi internecine tendencies into the future. OK!
Money quote from the AP story:
U.S. authorities claim a joint American and Iraqi operation that began in early August has improved security. The U.S. military has said the operation, for which 12,000 troops were redeployed to Baghdad, aims to curb mostly sectarian warfare.
"I believe there is a danger of civil war in Iraq, but only a danger," Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said after meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "I think Iraq's far from it. I think that there's been great progress in the security front here recently in Baghdad."
Abizaid said he and Army Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, were "very optimistic that the situation will stabilize."
Casey also said the security operation was working.
"I think everybody has seen an improvement in the situation in Baghdad over the last weeks because of the operations of the Iraqi security forces supported by the American Army," he said. "And we're confident that we can sustain that."
Reuters has much the same:
Abizaid, who met General John Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said comments he made earlier this month before the U.S. Senate in which he said the sectarian violence in Iraq was the worst he had seen had been misrepresented.
"I never said that Iraq was one foot from civil war. It is amazing how you say things sometimes and they get reported differently. I believe there is danger of civil war in Iraq, but only a danger. I think Iraq is far from it."
U.S. commanders have said the clampdown -- which has put an additional 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces on the city's streets -- has produced a sharp decline in violence in some deadly Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods.
Money quote from the AP story:
U.S. authorities claim a joint American and Iraqi operation that began in early August has improved security. The U.S. military has said the operation, for which 12,000 troops were redeployed to Baghdad, aims to curb mostly sectarian warfare.
"I believe there is a danger of civil war in Iraq, but only a danger," Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said after meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "I think Iraq's far from it. I think that there's been great progress in the security front here recently in Baghdad."
Abizaid said he and Army Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, were "very optimistic that the situation will stabilize."
Casey also said the security operation was working.
"I think everybody has seen an improvement in the situation in Baghdad over the last weeks because of the operations of the Iraqi security forces supported by the American Army," he said. "And we're confident that we can sustain that."
Reuters has much the same:
Abizaid, who met General John Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said comments he made earlier this month before the U.S. Senate in which he said the sectarian violence in Iraq was the worst he had seen had been misrepresented.
"I never said that Iraq was one foot from civil war. It is amazing how you say things sometimes and they get reported differently. I believe there is danger of civil war in Iraq, but only a danger. I think Iraq is far from it."
U.S. commanders have said the clampdown -- which has put an additional 12,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces on the city's streets -- has produced a sharp decline in violence in some deadly Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 6:50 PM 
